Last week, on a whim, I decided to make Limoncello. More on that at a later date, I’m sure. As a result, I was left with a large bowl of naked lemons and a couple of whole lemons. The naked (or zested) lemons got turned into a batch of highly unsuccessful frozen yoghurt–I really wish I’d made sorbet instead–and I decided to make a cake with the last two.

This recipe is a variation on Nigella’s Clementine Cake and is seriously easy to make. It’s also perfect if you happen to have thin-skinned lemons as I did. I think I actually prefer it to the original clementine version, which can be a bit cloying. The lemon pith does make the cakes bitter but it is balanced by the sweetness that they acquire during the initial cooking. (When I cut the lemons open they were gloriously sticky and syrupy. A complete surprise!)

I served the cakes with some lemon-clove syrup–zest and juice of one lemon, one tablespoon of water, one tablespoon of sugar, one clove, simmered for two minutes and strained–and a couple of scoops of lemon frozen yoghurt.

Mouth-puckeringly delicicous!

Damp lemon cakelettes

Makes 6
WW (UK) points per cake: 3.5
Source: How to Eat, Nigella Lawson

2 medium unwaxed, thin-skinned lemons
2 medium eggs
125g caster sugar
125g plain flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Put the lemons in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes until the lemons are soft and the side collapses a little when pressed. Scoop out a cup of cooking water, drain, and cool the lemons.

When cool enough to handle, cut in half and remove the seeds. Puree in a food processor or liquidiser, adding some of the reserved cooking water if necessary. You should end up with a thick pale yellow puree.

Preheat the oven to 175C (150C fan oven.) Grease and flour a 6-hole friand or muffin tin. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together lightly. Stir in the remaining ingredients until thoroughly combined. Divide between the holes of the prepared tin.

Bake for about 45 minutes–if browning too quickly then cover with a sheet of foil, shiny side out–until a skewer inserted into the centre of one of the cakes comes out clean. Cool in tins.